Lazy Boring Labor Day
by JoeMerl
Summary: With no skool and nothing do, the Membrane kids are BORED. If only Dad were home... WARNING: Pointless fluff, for those who like that.


Given the theme of this story, I would like to say that I was just bored today and inspired by said boredom to write this story, but the fact is I've had this planned for months; I've kind of picked out various holidays and planned stories to do for them, though I almost forgot about this one and am thus posting it when Labor Day is almost done. It actually felt good writing this; I have two long stories ("Dib in the PITS" and "Death of the Dib") going, and writing something short where I don't have to worry about long-term plans and things was nice. Anyway, hope you all (or at least my fellow Americans) had a good random day off, and please read and review.

Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, yada yada yada. And I read that Gaz's name is supposed to be "Gazlene," but "Dib" being short for "Dibert" I made up myself.

* * *

Dib was bored.

"If you sigh one more time, I'm going to have to do something _horrible _to you, Dib," Gaz growled, her fingers dancing around the buttons of her Game Slave 2, eyes narrowing to become even fiercer than before.

"I can't help it, Gaz," Dib said, his very words almost sounding like another drawn-out sigh. He was lying on his back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling with his arm hanging over the side. "There's nothing to do. The Swollen Eyeball site is down, _Mysterious Mysteries _isn't on because of this stupid movie marathon, and I don't even have Zim to go fight with because he's using the long weekend to go into space with his stupid robot dog and the floating moose. I've spent the last two days trying to get into his base but it's locked up too tight, the Computer's personality is even shut off so it won't let me in. I mean, I almost wish I was at skool, listening to one of Ms. Bitters insane lectures for Pete's sake." He sighed again, this one less listless and more filled with frustration, and grabbed a throw pillow to cover his face with. "I'm so _bored!_"

"Well, shut up about it!" Gaz snapped, hands tightening on her controller as she imagined it as Dib's neck.

Dib was silent, the pillow still over his abnormally-sized head, lying motionless now with his arm still dangling over the side of the couch. It was several more minutes before Gaz heard him sigh again.

It was a boring, lazy day.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gaz was bored.

Her fingers danced over the controls to her Game Slave 2, her eyes glued to the screen, but she was taking no pleasure from it as she stabbed at the Vampire Piggy Lord, watching his power bar slowly go down with each blow to the chest. This game was so old. It would be another six months before _Vampire Piggy Hunter 2: Rise of the Hoglord_ came out. Until then she was stuck with all her old games, played and played again and again for months without anything good to break the monotony.

OINK OINK! NO! YOU HAVE VANQUISHED ME! Count Porkula cried, before crumbling into dust. A short demo sequence later and the words HIGH SCORE!! were flashing across her screen, and she entered GAZ onto a list of high scores that all said GAZ. (#10 had once said DIB, but her brother had long ago paid dearly for that breach of personal property rights.)

Urgh...Dib was right, Gaz thought, it would almost be better to be at skool today, listening to Mr. Elliott and his stupid pep talks about how special she and everyone else in the entire world was. She lowered her game into her lap and felt the urge to sigh. Dib did it for her, still laying on his back on the couch with the pillow on his head.

It was a boring, lazy day, and Gaz suddenly found herself wishing that her father would have taken it off.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Professor Membrane was bored.

His was a very inquisitive mind, and one that did not do well holding a piece of information for too long a period of time. He liked to come up with an idea, quickly work it out within a few days' time, a week tops, and then move on to the next project without much delay. Unfortunately _this_ project was taking quite a bit longer, thanks to Perkins and his inability to read a simple DO NOT TOUCH sign written in bold red ink. After the firefighters had left, Professor Membrane had found his week's worth of work all ruined, and had had no choice but to start over again; thus the source of his ennui.

So there Membrane was, bent down over the schematics for his tooth-goldenator, doing the calculations even more quickly than usual since he had done them all before the previous week. At least at this rate he would be done in the next few days; he had come into the lab at two o'clock that morning to get started, and at nearly noon most of the preliminary work was done. If he could get started on building the thing by tomorrow...or why even wait, he could just stay late tonight and go home around one, maybe two in the morning...

He sighed and looked up from his work, glancing at the sundry papers and devices that littered his desk. His eyes fell to the one neat corner where he had a photo of the family carefully placed. Membrane was glancing a bit impatiently towards his watch in the picture, and cute little Gazlene was not even trying to be subtle, her Game Slave in her hands, the bow in her hair the only thing setting her apart from any other occasion. Only Dibert seemed wholly focused on the camera shot, smiling somewhat awkwardly and standing very straight, glasses reflecting a bit in the light. Membrane paused his goggled gaze on the photo for a moment, then turned to the clock sitting atop his computer monitor. 11:55 AM. Well, Membrane reasoned, he had time for a quick break just to get a bite to eat.

He rose from his chair and headed out of his office and down the hall, pausing when he noticed that all the lights were still off. That was strange. No lights were on in the empty little lounge either. He flicked them on as he entered, frowning as he went to the fridge to get out a quick sandwich. Closing the door with half a sub in hand, he wondered vaguely why the lab was so quiet...come to think of it he hadn't even seen anybody else all day, though that was not in the unusual given his hard-working tendencies.

He froze as his eyes fell onto the calendar attached via magnet to the fridge door. "Hmm..." Well, _that _might explain it, he thought, one eyebrow raised behind his gloves. He stood thinking for a moment, wondering what to do...it was, after all, a rather boring, lazy day...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gaz had started another game of _Vampire Piggy Hunter, _and Dib was still laying on the couch, sighing his annoying sighs. They both jumped, however, when the front door suddenly opened.

"What the--" Dib started, throwing the cushion away and looking over the couch's back, half-expecting Zim to have burst into the room in some sort of gigantic battle-mech. Again. Gaz, however, finished the cry of shock.

"_Dad?_"

"Hello, children!" Membrane said brightly, shutting the door behind him and setting his briefcase of papers down on the floor. He shook his head. "You two won't believe what happened! I've been in the office all morning, and didn't realize until nearly noon that it was Labor Day today!" He shook his head again, chuckling to himself. "Well, no use staying at the lab if no one else is there, I suppose. I don't suppose either of you two would like to do something with your old man today?"

Gaz and Dib looked at each other in amazement. Gaz just looked shocked. Dib's face broke into a ridiculous grin.

"Let's go to the science museum!"

"What? No way, we're going to Bloaty's--"

"Or to the video store, they just got the new Bigfoot documentary--"

"That's stupid, if anything we're going to the movie theater to see the new _Vampire Piggy Hunter_ movie--"

"You've seen that like five times already!"

"I don't care!"

Dib jumped off the couch, throwing the pillow back into place, as Gaz climbed off the chair, shoving her Game Slave into her pocket as she went. Membrane watched his arguing children with a bit of surprise as they rushed towards him, shouting ideas and yelling at each other all the time.

In the end, Membrane and his children went to Bloaty's for dinner, then down to the video store where, despite his not-so-thinly-veiled suggestions, Dib opted out of a real scientific documentary for _The Truth About Bigfoot_ (a Swollen Eyeball Productions). But, truth be told, neither of the children really cared that much what they did that day; in fact, they would have been happy just to have spent a boring, lazy Labor Day at home with their dad.


End file.
